To say today has been the Monday of all Monday’s would be quite accurate. I debated on whether or not to blog about this because honestly I feel super sensitive about it – as a dog mom and since it deals with finances. But after struggling to find resources today I figured if this post helps at least one person in my situation then it was worth it. And I just kind of needed to vent…

The last photo of our non-hillbilly pup.

So we went to a friend’s lake house this weekend. We had a blast and it was so unbelievably nice of them to let us bring Camp along. Seriously, not a lot of people would do that. He behaved really well, played with the other dogs, and for the most part stayed nearby. I took a few photos of him and JR when we were hanging out on the dock and then we penned him up inside the homeowner’s wire kennel and went out on the boat for a few hours. When we got back we let him out and noticed a huge chunk of his lower canine tooth was chipped off. I went into full on dog mom mode. First I looked at the photos I took on the dock earlier and sure enough both his pearly whites were intact so it for sure happened while he was in the kennel. Probably gnawing on it to get out. Then I started googling, panicking, and making every attempt to not start crying. What was left of the tooth was completely cracked in half and it was sort of bleeding – it looked like it HURT! I researched a few options but figured there wasn’t much we could do about it immediately and tried to just make sure he wasn’t in pain. It didn’t ruin our weekend – he kept playing and running around fine and we had fun and enjoyed the rest of the time there. Read more…

We did it! I started this blog post the day after Memorial Day. Before starting I took down a bunch of notes on how I was feeling and prepped for the 30 days ahead and guess what? We did it! We made it 30 days and I won’t say it was easy but we did learn a lot, changed a few habits, and definitely plan on doing it again. I have a few posts planned around Whole30 since it is a super tough program and I was constantly scouring the internet for resources. Be sure to check back for a list of must have ingredients, signs that Whole30 may be for you, and tips on getting through the program.

What is Whole30

To start out Whole30 is described as not being a diet program but more of a lifestyle change/food challenge. For 30 days you cut out all sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, dairy, carrageenan, MSG, sulfites, and cannot consume any baked goods or “compliant” junk foods.

Compliant is a word that is used often in the program. It essentially means that a food is approved to eat on the program. 

You are pretty much narrowed down to fruits, veggies, meat and eggs, and healthy fats. There isn’t any measuring of foods or specific times you need to eat, although they do encourage to eat 3 times a day with no snacking in between. There is also absolutely no cheating during the 30 days. If you go off program you are supposed to start over completely.

If you are a big reader I have also heard it helps to read “It Starts With Food.” This book is referenced in the Whole30 book and is written by the same authors so if your up for it order both! 

Our Experience

We started out right after Memorial Day weekend and made it through the 30 days to the end of June. We had to power through JR’s 10 year high school reunion, a backyard cookout, and skip a beerfest but we did it!  I started by journaling through the first 8 days and then sort of got into the flow of things and forgot. On the Whole30 timeline they state that you are most likely to quit on day 10 so after we got over that hump we really got into the groove and it got so much easier. Read more…